No doubt, been there 3 times, was treated horribly all 3 times. I don't talk smack on the road, ever. They sought us out and just were ridiculous. Of course, the stadium is half full once the team starts losing. Niner Faithful my a**

I've been lurking here for a long time, but joined only yesterday. I read the article in the OP because comments on it were blowing up my twitter timeline. I wondered if I should post it in here, but figured it wouldn't be the best thing as my introduction to the forum. Also, I was certain that someone else would do it sooner or later. I'm not going to comment on it myself, except to say it brought to mind this article.

So there you go guys.... it sounds like you're ok with us being no better than 49er fans. Is that how we want to be seen? I want to be known as classy fans that cheer and scream the loudest in the league, but we have a stadium where people can feel safe.

My brother got knocked around in LA when the Hawks won the division back in oh.... 1989 or so? The Raiders were playing at the LA Colliseum. He and another brother and 2 friends were attempting to exit the stadium and he got smashed into quite a few times to the point where it was obvious they were trying to get him on the ground and see what they could do to mess him up. He was smart enough to hurry into a little nook and get his jersey off fast and ditched it by folding it up and hiding it in his pants and wore his plain white undershirt out.

Nothing like that should happen anywhere, but the OP simply said, "Come on Hawk Fans, We're Better Than This". I couldn't agree more. But after reading some of the responses.... maybe we're not better than this. Maybe some are, but apparently a lot think it's a-ok and to be expected. I see fans of teams I dislike wearing their jerseys everyday. I'm glad there is interest in the NFL and that there are rivals who buy tickets, who make it so that somebody wants to broadcast the games, and that provide cities like Seattle with the taxes needed to build such a fantastic stadium. As I said before.... that wasn't just Seahawks fans paying for that stadium. In fact, a large percentage of it was tourist dollars (and still is). That doesn't mean I think they should be carried into the stadium like kings, but maybe we can let them attend a game without worrying about death. Sadly it will take something awful beyond awful before a lot of minds are changed, and it's a matter of time. It's like an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. You can feel it building. Stadium violence is on the rise and it's a matter of time before it happens in Seattle and maybe some eyes will open to what is a serious problem. I hope like crazy it never happens, but I'm afraid we're kind of at the point of no return here, and then lots of folks will have answers about how to fix it. I'd love it if we had those answers now rather than after a woman, child, or even a full grown man has to experience it.

Wow.. Just read the article, that's so unfortunate. Makes me kind of embarrassed to be a fan sometimes. Not just Seahawks, but football in general. This happens at EVERY stadium in the country, if you wear the opposing team's jersey, you get harassed, that's just the way it's been since I can remember. Most of the people who do the harassing are actually decent folks, just had a bit too much to drink and let their emotions take control.

I know its just a game and anyone should have the right to wear whatever they want to a stadium. Its a free country. However, that won't stop people from screaming profanity at you. Pretty much everyone should know this by now. If you wear an opposing team's jersey into a stadium, any NFL stadium, you're going to be in for a very long day/evening. Unfortunate, but it is what it is. They're not going to stop selling alcohol at football games and those nutty, profanity screaming J-offs at the game happen to bring in a lot of revenue for the Seattle Seahawks.

Anyway. Although the behavior was totally unacceptable, in that article. It hails in comparison to what I underwent at a 49ers game. I wasn't crazy enough to wear a Seahawks jersey at Candlestick, but I couldn't help but wear my new Seahawks hat. Just with a hat, I was screamed at all game long. Had random Niners fans scream inches from my face every time the Seahawks were scored on or turned the ball over.

I am guilty as sin when it comes to bad behavior at games though.. Towards the end of that same game, someone behind me snatched my hat off my head and started rubbing his a$$ with it, screaming, I ended up grabbing him by the collar and pulling him down an entire row, where he landed flat on his back. Right as I was about start punching him, I had about three other Niners fans jump on my back. I was with a friend (I would never go to Candlestick alone and cheer for the Hawks, lol!) who tried to get the guys off me, but he was then jumped too. Lucky for us, security was there within thirty seconds and we weren't beat up too bad.

Long story short, it took about four big security guards and a SF police officer to get these guys off of us and escort us out of the stadium. On the way out, we had beer poured all over us from Niners fans on both sides of the isle we were running up. It was a nightmare. Never got my Seahawks hat back. I can't even imagine what they did to my hat after I left.. In the end, no one was even sent to jail, the cop just told us to get on the bus and go back to our hotel.

I learned a very valuable lesson, if you are a Hawks fan and want to go to a 49ers game when the Seahawks are in town, call up Candlestick and ask to sit in a family friendly section. We just grabbed whatever tickets we could get ahold of at the time, since we were in town for business. We had no other choice. It ended up being one of the rowdiest parts of Candlestick.

Never again...

Also: I have heard some pretty harrowing stories from fans of opposing teams that went to a game in the Bay Area against the Oakland Raiders. My friend has a colleague that's a Broncos fan, he was stabbed when he went to a game in Oakland. Not in the stadium, but after the game in the street. A group of guys in black Raiders jerseys came up from behind him, roughed him up and one of the guys ended up stabbing him in the side right before they ran away.

The Bay Area seems to be a pretty violent place for sports fans in general. Not too long ago, a random guy (who was a laid back husband and father) was brutally assaulted by a group of Dodgers fans. The sad thing is this was not in L.A. but SF, when the Dodgers were playing the Giants in San Francisco. If I remember correctly the guy was beaten so badly that he was hospitalized for quite a while. The first few days he was hanging on to life by a thread.

Last edited by Zowert on Sat Dec 29, 2012 7:27 am, edited 2 times in total.

This kind of shit is why I hate going to Seahawks road games. I have seen them play many times in the Meadowlands, twice in Foxboro, once each in Chicago, SD and this year in Toronto. I always wear full Hawks gear...and many times I take a lot of abuse for it. In SD [1996] I had stuff thrown at me in my seat and have had tons of verbal abuse in NY & Foxboro. I am a big guy but it doesn't matter.

I will not go to a Hawks game and not wear my gear...so I rarely go to road games anymore. Even last year when the Hawks came to NY [Browner!] I didn't go because I'd rather watch at home then spend 4 hours being abused by drunk Giants fans. It's just not fun. No way in a million years would I take my kids to a Hawks road game and wear Hawks gear - that's idiotic.

To me there is no better experience in sports than watching a Hawks game in Seattle...but if you are an opposing NFL fan you should not wear your team's gear if you don't want to attract abuse. It's sad but that's how it is and you have to know that going in. Either don't go or don't wear your colors.

Some of you want to come over here and watch a football game. That'd be a real eye opener. You'd be lucky to come away with hurt feelings if you walked into a football stadium wearing the opposition jersey. It's simple really - don't wear a Niners jersey. The day you stop a vast minority of football fans among a 70K crowd swearing at a game is the day you ban alcohol from the city on game day and achieve a degree of world peace.

Imagine what the atmosphere would be like at an NFL game if they sold Marijuana instead of Alcohol. So, instead of paying seven to ten bucks for a 16 oz plastic bottle of beer, you would pay the same amount for some fresh Indica* tightly rolled up in a joint. Yeah, I know this would never happen. Not in my lifetime anyway. But if you could just imagine all the folks who consume enough alcohol to lose self-control, sometimes violently; If you could just imagine those people smoked marijuana at the game instead of drinking. How much more enjoyable the games would be. Of course there would be a smoking and non-smoking section.

I don't think selling and allowing the consumption of marijuana at Century Link would be good though. The 12th Man wouldn't be as loud. Everyone would either be in line to buy junk food, or they'd be sitting silently in their seats, eating junk food. If Century Link were the first stadium in the NFL to distribute and allow the consumption of marijuana. The Clink would no longer be the loudest stadium in the league, it would be the most silent. Perhaps even in the world. The only noise would be from the field and the occasional giggling of some 'first time smoker' in the seats.

* FYI - Indica is a species of Cannabis that has a higher Cannabidiol:THC ratio, which causes more relaxation and even has an anxiolytic [anti-anxiety] effect. Unlike Cannabis "Sativa" which has a higher THC:Cannabidiol ratio. Sativa is more popular in Marijuana's black market, most likely because its easier to grow and maintain than Indica (or so i've been told by friends that grow, legally). Anyway, Sativa is known for having more of a cerebral high, which smokers often call a 'head high', while India is a 'body high'. Not sure about the reasoning behind this, I rarely smoke, but when I do it's all the same to me. I do notice more paranoia with Sativa than Indica though..

Sorry for the lesson on pot species, haha.. Not necessary, but i'm a bit bored. If you couldn't already tell.

But its more like a few thousand. Out of the 67,000 that CenturyLink Field seats, I would estimate (from my experience at 25+ games at Clink/Qwest), that at least 7,000 of those people are drunk and somewhat out of control. Playoff games can be even worse. I've only been to three playoff games in Seattle, but every one of them, I saw at least twice as many people out of control than a regular season home game.

That's it? One letter? No one hurt? Just some feelings ruffled from an opposing teams fan who admits to retaliating to seemingly every comment?

Well considering an evening game, alchohal that had likely been getting consumed for multiple hours before the game even started and against our biggest rival (and well known most vocal shit talkers themselves) in a highly heated event with very heavy implications between two smash mouth teams that obviously hate each other, the best the Seattle times can come up with is a disgruntled Niner fan who admittedly retaliated on several occasion?

I think some are blowing this out of proportion. If you believe a completely emotionless free environment is possible while also being known as the loudest and rowdiest crowd in the league. I think your really reaching.

I would feel different if there was a large volume of complaints or there were actual acts of violence but that is not the case. This is one isolated complaint that we have no idea how much is exaggerated or blown out of proportion, let alone how much of it was brought on by the person complaining.

Chastising an entire fan base (one known for it's emotional input) because one person complained is over the top. I have heard way to many good stories from opposing teams fans about their experience in Seattle to believe we are all just drunken/ignorant thugs. If you really believe there should be zero ribbing at games with opposing teams fans then by all means, stay home.

Nothing like that should happen anywhere, but the OP simply said, "Come on Hawk Fans, We're Better Than This". I couldn't agree more. But after reading some of the responses.... maybe we're not better than this. Maybe some are, but apparently a lot think it's a-ok and to be expected. I see fans of teams I dislike wearing their jerseys everyday. I'm glad there is interest in the NFL and that there are rivals who buy tickets, who make it so that somebody wants to broadcast the games, and that provide cities like Seattle with the taxes needed to build such a fantastic stadium. As I said before.... that wasn't just Seahawks fans paying for that stadium. In fact, a large percentage of it was tourist dollars (and still is). That doesn't mean I think they should be carried into the stadium like kings, but maybe we can let them attend a game without worrying about death. Sadly it will take something awful beyond awful before a lot of minds are changed, and it's a matter of time. It's like an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. You can feel it building. Stadium violence is on the rise and it's a matter of time before it happens in Seattle and maybe some eyes will open to what is a serious problem. I hope like crazy it never happens, but I'm afraid we're kind of at the point of no return here, and then lots of folks will have answers about how to fix it. I'd love it if we had those answers now rather than after a woman, child, or even a full grown man has to experience it.

Hey you know what? As Hawk fans we are better than this year. As real Hawk fans we don't act like that. So stop trying to pretend that the entire fan base is out of control, and yes that is what you are acting like.

You know who does crap like this? Drunk jackasses who aren't even real fans, just morons looking for excuses to be drunk fools in public. The ones who yell at fans like that (I've only seen this on a few occasions and none to the level of that lady who wrote to the garbage times) and yeah, one time I did step in and tell the "hawk" fan to cool it. Don't tell us how we should feel and act when you don't know how we feel and act.

I just don't believe this story happened the way it was written. I've been a season ticket holder in the 300's section and have been to plenty of games in the 100's section too, never have I ever seen anything close to what she described. So ya, we are better than that.

Aros wrote:Sigh. Just add alcohol sadly enough. And Testosterone. Not a great combo when their pal Bravado shows up. I've had my share of fun at the games, even times where I tipped a bit back more than I care to admit, but I can't imagine being this out of control and inhumane to other people. To be fair, this occurs in every single stadium and fanbase around the NFL every single game day, but as Seahawks fans, WE SHOULD BE BETTER THAN THIS!

After reading this article, the lady who is complaining about being abused made several mistakes. You go wearing the other teams colors in a critical game, you must realize that you are going to get ribbed. When you get ribbed you just smile, accept it and go on. You do not do what this lady did repeatedly, you don't tell the people to shut up, that just makes the situation ten times worse. Nope you smile, and make subtle moves to defuse the situation.

I have gone to a lot of road games and I tell you the way this lady reacted was completely the wrong way to go about it.

70,000 people + Alcohol = a few isolated incidents of cussing and verbal harassment according to a couple of stories that were submitted by email and cannot be confirmed?

Wow...how does this even make the newspaper? The fact that there are that many people there and so few incidents you'd think the Times would be running a story about how relatively safe a pro football game compared to driving, going to a bar, or even taking a bath

And like what others have said...you don't tell opposing fans to shut up if they cuss at you at your family. They're just cuss words...sticks and stones and all that.

"Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force."

warden wrote:After reading this article, the lady who is complaining about being abused made several mistakes. You go wearing the other teams colors in a critical game, you must realize that you are going to get ribbed. When you get ribbed you just smile, accept it and go on. You do not do what this lady did repeatedly, you don't tell the people to shut up, that just makes the situation ten times worse. Nope you smile, and make subtle moves to defuse the situation.

I have gone to a lot of road games and I tell you the way this lady reacted was completely the wrong way to go about it.

I've gotta agree. My family and I went to the Titan's game in Nashville back in '05. My sister and I wore Seahawks' jerseys, my parents Titans. The worst I got was just a little ribbing, nothing big. I simply joked around with the people, and everything then just turned into light banter. It turns out, most of the Titan's fans I talked to were big fans of Shaun Alexander (it is SEC country), so maybe that had something to do with it.

Even before the game while tailgating, it wasn't anything serious. I heard a lot of "Seahawks suck!" and "We're gonna kick ya'lls a..", but that is normal behavior. I honestly had a great time at the game, even being an opposing fan. Though, it's not like the Seahawks and Titan's are bitter rivals either.

A couple years back, there was a son and his dad at Qwest field; the son must have been six or so. They came from Arizona to watch the Cardinals play the Seahawks. What a joy to watch those two as they had just witnessed the Cards hand the Hawks their hind ends and Daddy and son were just giddy. Daddy was carrying son on his shoulders....

I couldn't help but feel good for them. I had my camera and took a couple of pictures of the two as we walked along the concourse exiting the stadium just because of the good feeling they gave me as I watched them two.

I asked him for his email address and told him I would email him the pictures I took. Following the email I corresponded with him a couple of times........finally there was nothing to talk about anymore and I haven't heard from him since.

I still smile as I think back on that time of my life....we aren't all that bad.

This goes on in every city just about, sadly. And it goes both ways. This year at the Vikings game I sat next to one smart-ass viking fan. 10 years or so ago at the Eagles game at Husky stadium, I got quite the verbal abuse as I was in section full of Eagles fans.

There's always good-natured ribbing, such as booing the opposing fan when they come to their seat...but there is other BS. A couple years back at the Rams game I saw two big Seahawks fans corner a a guy wearing a Rams jersey against the wall and they were screaming in his face.

There is no need to cuss people out, especially kids. That's the worse part when it's a family with kids getting ripped.

This is very simple, don't show up to a Seattle game dressed in 49er gear and Duck gear. Problem solved. If you don't like being harassed, don't go, and especially don't write a letter to the Times crying about it. Period.

Seaswab wrote:This is very simple, don't show up to a Seattle game dressed in 49er gear and Duck gear. Problem solved. If you don't like being harassed, don't go, and especially don't write a letter to the Times crying about it. Period.

The best thing about this article is hearing they won't be back.

If it is just a "few bad apples" than we can call them out and embarrass them in the act. If it's representative of a larger group/normal behavior one would find at a football game, then yeah - go into it with expectation.

I hope she doesn't boycott Seattle for good though, because the Seahawks are just one aspect of what makes this a world class city. I suppose Vancouver folks do most of their shopping in Portland though, location and no sales tax y'know.

|~=[==~||~==]=~| ||Tfs LnD ] [ HAWKS||RIP BFS. He was kind of a douche, but he was our kind of a douche.

I live in Illinois...Not proud of it, just a fact.I've been to see the Hawks at Soldier Field, Lambeau Field, Metrodome, and Ford Field(Yep...On that fateful day).I've always worn Hawks gear to these games, and people are going to spout off...It is how you respond to it that is the key.I generally end up buying the people around me a few beers, they buy me a few beers, and we talk crap about each others teams...When it's all said and done, we shake hands and go home...I can't imagine why this screeching harpy that was telling everyone to 'Shut up! had a bad time?

Aros wrote:Sigh. Just add alcohol sadly enough. And Testosterone. Not a great combo when their pal Bravado shows up. I've had my share of fun at the games, even times where I tipped a bit back more than I care to admit, but I can't imagine being this out of control and inhumane to other people. To be fair, this occurs in every single stadium and fanbase around the NFL every single game day, but as Seahawks fans, WE SHOULD BE BETTER THAN THIS!

Somehow I believe the woman who wrote the letter/story is a tad sensitive to things that most of us wouldn't give a second thought to. Really, bodyguards? Sorry, I'm not buying it. She makes it sound as if at every single point of her "innocent and harmonious journey to Seattle" that her and her children were threatened and bullied. I would be skeptical of one point of incidence as she describes it, but to claim multiple incidents involving different people causing her to fear for her physical safety just sounds like a lie.

Adults picking on a 14 year old before the game started? And then to throw in the part about her son never wanting to go to a pro game again. Tell me this, would anyone of you stand by while drunken adults terrorized a 14 year old? I doubt it. The secretary's story wreaks of exaggeration just shy of flat out bullshit!

As a life long Seahawks fan who went to his first home game....at the first home game in 1977, Things HAVE really changed. I was 11 years old during my first season with the Seahawks. My parents felt it was totally ok to buy our family season tickets and take me to every game, where their largest worry was strategic parking before the game. They had no worry that I would be exposed to rude fan behavior, or that some drunken fan would throw up on us. In fact, I can remember no specific incidents of bad fan behavior from Home fans or visiting fans. In fact, we had a KC Chiefs fan sit in front of us one game early on.....and 10 years later that same fan sat in the same seat and my dad greeted him like a lost friend and they bantered back and fourth the whole game....all in good fun. We were ALL fans of football. We held those seats until they brought the place down.

Since those days, our entire culture has changed..... This is not just a football fan issue. This is a larger issue. It has become ok to yell and ridicule people. It has become ok to be disrespectful to women. It has become totally ok to publicly shame another person. I see this behavior most often with the under 25 crowd. Trashing another person on facebook, or twitter or a message board is the new normal........My 18 year old daughter says its fun. Is anyone surprised this behavior then comes out in public, with total strangers....where it is easy to be anonymous hiding behind a fan jersey in a stadium full of 65,000 other people? Man, I don't. It's shameful really.

You can call me old, or stupid, or nostalgic or whatever the hell you want....but I think everyone should be able to experience being a fan. The game day experience is what made me into a lifelong Seahawks fan. I don't want parents to not want to take their kids to a game because they are worried. Now....with that said, I would not take an 11 year old to an away game. I expect a certain amount of ribbing, and a run in or two with a guy who has had too much. I can deal with this just fine....and have most recently at Mile High Stadium a couple of years ago.

It just comes down to treating people the way you would want to be treated. Unfortunately, that's a pretty low level for some.

Disappointing to read that, but at the same time I think that lady is exaggerating about there being more abusive people than nice people. The last time I went to a game was the 2010 season opener. There was a lot of talking back and forth the security kicked people out left and right but for the most part the majority of fans were well behaved. After the game the 49er fans wouldn't shut up, one group kept harassing everyone. A Seahawks fan told him to go home, and the Niner fan shoved him - it was broken up immediately. Another group was in a couple's ear because the girl was in a Niner jersey and the guy a Seahawks jersey. One 49er fan kept saying, "You're pissing me off. You want to fight?". Even though the Seahawks fan never talked, the girl looked terrified. I noticed a Renton cop who was off-duty (I just recognized him from around town) and he was there to walk between them to make sure nothing bad happened. NFL fans be pretty crazy.

Nothing like that should happen anywhere, but the OP simply said, "Come on Hawk Fans, We're Better Than This". I couldn't agree more. But after reading some of the responses.... maybe we're not better than this. Maybe some are, but apparently a lot think it's a-ok and to be expected. I see fans of teams I dislike wearing their jerseys everyday. I'm glad there is interest in the NFL and that there are rivals who buy tickets, who make it so that somebody wants to broadcast the games, and that provide cities like Seattle with the taxes needed to build such a fantastic stadium. As I said before.... that wasn't just Seahawks fans paying for that stadium. In fact, a large percentage of it was tourist dollars (and still is). That doesn't mean I think they should be carried into the stadium like kings, but maybe we can let them attend a game without worrying about death. Sadly it will take something awful beyond awful before a lot of minds are changed, and it's a matter of time. It's like an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. You can feel it building. Stadium violence is on the rise and it's a matter of time before it happens in Seattle and maybe some eyes will open to what is a serious problem. I hope like crazy it never happens, but I'm afraid we're kind of at the point of no return here, and then lots of folks will have answers about how to fix it. I'd love it if we had those answers now rather than after a woman, child, or even a full grown man has to experience it.

Hey you know what? As Hawk fans we are better than this year. As real Hawk fans we don't act like that. So stop trying to pretend that the entire fan base is out of control, and yes that is what you are acting like.

You know who does crap like this? Drunk jackasses who aren't even real fans, just morons looking for excuses to be drunk fools in public. The ones who yell at fans like that (I've only seen this on a few occasions and none to the level of that lady who wrote to the garbage times) and yeah, one time I did step in and tell the "hawk" fan to cool it. Don't tell us how we should feel and act when you don't know how we feel and act.

I just don't believe this story happened the way it was written. I've been a season ticket holder in the 300's section and have been to plenty of games in the 100's section too, never have I ever seen anything close to what she described. So ya, we are better than that.

Uh huh. Ok, thanks for setting me straight. I could care less if they are drunk jackasses or real fans. What happened to Bryan Stow happened in the Dodgers Stadium parking lot, and it doesn't matter if that was done by "fans" or "drunk jackasses". Either way he suffered brain damage and nearly died.

All I am saying is that Seattle is quickly heading this way. I've been to games in many different decades and it is very clearly getting worse, even as security and technology for security is getting better by leaps and bounds, they still aren't keeping up with the fighting and worse that is going on. They can't keep up as it's getting worse.

I always thought Seattle was better than that. I remember leaving the stadium and actually being let out by another driver and seeing how quickly the stadium cleared. People would wave each other through, tell them when it was clear, etc. I also saw everybody obeying the traffic lights... both pedestrians and vehicles. And interestingly enough, that same attitude seemed to take place in the stadium. Now I see less and less of each thing. That's all I'm saying. When you start spiraling downward, it is very hard to make a comeback and get out of such a mess. But what do I know? Not much apparently. Apparently it is all because a fan of a team has the nerve to wear the "colors" (WTF?! Is this 1992 in Compton? PLEASE!!!) of their team and they "have it coming." Just stupid.

I hate the Niners .. but they have every right to support their team, home or away, if they spend their hard earned money to see them. There is friendly trash talk and there is harassment/abuse. If the story told by this Niner fan is true.. it's downright shameful she had that type of experience.

I've seen Seattle play on the road in SF, Phoenix and Denver - I had fans give me shit.. I gave it back.. but it was all just good natured trash talk. That's all that should happen anywhere. Like Aros said.. we should be better than this. Much better.

Aros wrote:Sigh. Just add alcohol sadly enough. And Testosterone. Not a great combo when their pal Bravado shows up. I've had my share of fun at the games, even times where I tipped a bit back more than I care to admit, but I can't imagine being this out of control and inhumane to other people. To be fair, this occurs in every single stadium and fanbase around the NFL every single game day, but as Seahawks fans, WE SHOULD BE BETTER THAN THIS!

Somehow I believe the woman who wrote the letter/story is a tad sensitive to things that most of us wouldn't give a second thought to. Really, bodyguards? Sorry, I'm not buying it. She makes it sound as if at every single point of her "innocent and harmonious journey to Seattle" that her and her children were threatened and bullied. I would be skeptical of one point of incidence as she describes it, but to claim multiple incidents involving different people causing her to fear for her physical safety just sounds like a lie.

Adults picking on a 14 year old before the game started? And then to throw in the part about her son never wanting to go to a pro game again. Tell me this, would anyone of you stand by while drunken adults terrorized a 14 year old? I doubt it. The secretary's story wreaks of exaggeration just shy of flat out bullshit!

Agreed. I would never stand by and just watch as some douche gets in a kids face. Im calling Bull.

Wartooth wrote:I live in Illinois...Not proud of it, just a fact.I've been to see the Hawks at Soldier Field, Lambeau Field, Metrodome, and Ford Field(Yep...On that fateful day).I've always worn Hawks gear to these games, and people are going to spout off...It is how you respond to it that is the key.I generally end up buying the people around me a few beers, they buy me a few beers, and we talk crap about each others teams...When it's all said and done, we shake hands and go home...I can't imagine why this screeching harpy that was telling everyone to 'Shut up! had a bad time?

This sums it up pretty well. I've taken crap from hostile fans; I just ignore it and nothing comes of it. I'm sure the opportunity for escalation existed if I did otherwise.

My favorite was in Cleveland when a Browns fan yelled at me, "Go back to Seattle!" I laughed pretty damn hard and refrained from saying, "You think there's any chance that I'm going to choose to STAY in Cleveland?" What a hellhole of a city.

This may be the way to go, but if so, it shouldn't have to be. Anyone should be free to wear their favorite team gear in any stadium. It's a game for crying out loud. They paid good money for their tickets, plus travel cost, etc. They are a guest in Seattle and at C-Link and should be treated as such. Joking that their team is going to get smashed, obliterated and eviscerated by the Hawks is one thing, screaming f bombs in people's faces is something else entirely.

hedgehawk wrote:That article is a joke. Go to a Mariner game instead. Or how about dressing in normal clothing instead of being decked out in opposing teams gear. My dad is a Rams fan and we go every year to the home and away game (except this year) and one of us always dresses in civilian clothing. Me in ST Louis and him here in Seattle, never had a problem. I do agree if you see things happening, like people getting physical, you should step in and try to help if you can. People yelling at you though...gimme a break.

I agree with this. I think there's a level of decorum and respect that you need to show when in an opposing team's stadium, and problems happen when this respect isn't given.

I've been to many games at the Clink since 2002, and it's almost always harmless ribbing happening. Lets see these same 49ers fans go to Oakland Colliseum and see what a REAL hostile crowd is like. In short: these people need to grow a pair.

My wife and I attended the Hawks / Vikings game earlier this year. I was wearing my Seahawks ( Alexander ) jersey and she was wearing a Vikings jersey. We had lots of people from both sides make good humored comments to us about our mixed colors. No problems whatsoever.If this crap (article) is happening, well, these people need to understand that it is just a game and that the game would not be possible without an opponent. Stay classy people.

I don't know. I have only been to one game and it was against the niners and their fans were the ones talking. I feel the woman a Niners fan maybe hyped up what really happened. She could be sore about the loss or the fact that we all know that their stadium has more issues with other teams visiting than most places. But if it is true I hope it stops. I know the Hawks have been looked at as weak and pathetic for a long time but lets keep it on the field and let the players do the beating.

If .NET did not exist I would get so much more work done during the day!

Chicago fans are awful. Too bad, because unlike Cleveland they've got a great city. But the sports fans are hideous and I auto-root against Chicago in everything now because those people deserve to walk around in a stupid drunken haze wondering what just hit them after every game.

Also went to Seahawks-Colts here in Indy three years ago, Colts fans were cool. And I've been to St. Louis, fully expecting (even hoping) to hate their fans, but they were actually cool people as well.

I loved the city of Chicago, so much to do. I have a ton of relatives out there too. We did the Colts game too, incredible fans. They were so friendly, and the stadium was pretty mellow. We were just Peyton's next victim. Maybe the best fans I've been around for a road game, right up there with Miami and Denver.